Faust resists the kind of full-blown romantic ardour that might seem appropriate to music inspired by a protracted love affair. Instead she weaves her sinewy melodic line in a more introverted manner...The effect is totally magical...[in the Second Concerto] Fausts draws you into the ebb and flow of the musical narrative

Faust...relishes i[the First's] warmth and volatility while respecting its musical integrity. The second concerto exemplifies Bartók’s mature synthesis of traditional and modern styles. I do not share leading violinists’ faith in its greatness, but Faust puts her unshowy brilliance at its service.

everything registers in this richly conceived performance

solo playing of sensitivity and playfulness and an orchestral sound that fits it like a hand to a glove...This disc is a winner. The sensitivity of the playing and the empathy of the orchestral accompaniment put it in a very special class which is worthy of comparison with any other set in the catalogue.

Faust combines technical brilliance with a performance full of bite and character. Wide-ranging dynamics are not just well defined by loud and soft, but by distinct textural variety...here seems to be a natural affinity with Daniel Harding and his orchestra, who offer vivid accompaniment throughout and no shortage of incisive rawness of their own where required.

[Harding and the orchestra] bring a glittering, sometimes gritty edge to Bartok’s scoring — and underscore her detailed readings of this deeply felt, violently passionate music. In Faust’s powerful performance, the long solo of the first concerto’s opening andante sostenuto sounds like a lament for lost love

probably the most beautiful and subtly nuanced version [of No. 1] available. The same intelligence is very much at work in the second concerto...Harding, sometimes a variable Bartókian, is clean, committed and incisive here. Make sure you read Faust's own essay in the sleevenotes: she writes about Bartók as persuasively as she plays him.

Faust negotiates the composer’s idealised fantasising with a poetic sensitivity that captures the almost cinematic cut-and-thrust of the music’s churning emotions… She finds the perfect match in Daniel Harding’s lucid accompaniments and sound of exceptional textural transparency.

Faust finds an ideal tonal pungency to voice the folk-like intonations, whether fiery or wistfully fragile, which she allies to a natural sweetness and flexibility of timbre and phrasing. The orchestra is a potent force, too, in underpinning the rhythms and radiating colour. A compelling disc.

Faust plays with sweet ecstasy in the passionate first movement [of No. 1], lyrically opulent enough to suggest Richard Strauss. She’s equally impressive in the puckish second movement, kicked into life by gawky solo notes played without vibrato — one of her research discoveries...Music to cherish.

it’s to the credit of Faust and Harding that this compelling, elusive music never feels shapeless, and the livelier second movement is cheeky, gutsy and pungent. Beautifully recorded, and Faust’s self-penned sleeve notes make fascinating reading.